Two Israel Chief Rabbis Differ on Kashruth, but Split is Denied

September 2, 1964

JERUSALEM (Sep. 1)

While shops in other parts of the country have already received kashruth certificates from the Rabbinate for the sale of meat slaughtered in the Marbek cooperative abattoir, the Jerusalem Rabbinate today posted warnings throughout the city that the sale of the meat has not yet been approved here.

The latest development followed the conclusion last week of an agreement between the Rabbinate and Marbek along lines proposed by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Isser Yehuha Unter-man and forestalling a clash between the secular and rabbinic authorities when a Supreme Court hearing on the matter was canceled.

The Chief Rabbinate Council, meanwhile, today issued a statement denying reports of a dispute on the matter between the two Chief Rabbis. The statement apparently referred to reports that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim had criticized the agreement reached with Marbek by the Tel Aviv Rabbinate, which is headed by Rabbi Unterman. Rabbi Ilissim is reported to have indicated that he would have preferred a showdown on the question of the Jurisdiction of the Rabbinate and the secular courts.